LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Health care professionals from around the country were honored as part of Respiratory Care Week.

Respiratory therapists care for patients who have trouble breathing, working directly with doctors to treat a range of patients like premature infants to elderly adults. 

Sloane Grant, who will turn 9 years old in November, has had to overcome RSV, ECMO and other respiratory viruses throughout her childhood.

"Since Sloane has been born, we have been in and out of the PICU quite a bit through her whole life, staying there with different respiratory illnesses," said Katie DeNardi, her mother.

Katie DeNardi and Sloane

Katie DeNardi and her daughter Sloane at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 23, 2024.

Sloane has Down syndrome, so she's predisposed to chronic nasal congestion partly due to a smaller nose and nasal passage. She works with respiratory therapists on breathing treatments to keep her airways clear.

"Sloane does those treatments every four hours, most of them, a good RT will talk to her and play with her to get her through the 30 minutes to an hour worth of therapy that they're doing," DeNardi said. 

At Bellarmine University, the next wave of respiratory care professionals are being trained. Dr. Christy Kane is Bellarmine University's Associate Dean at Lansing School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences.

"One of the first things our students learn is CPR, and so airway breathing and circulation," said Kane, Ph. D., RRT, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, AE-C, FAARC. "That is what we do in a nutshell. For patients, that is vitally important for them to stay alive. Everything we do is to keep the patient alive, to keep them breathing so they can have quality of life. We are the health care providers who take care of people's heart and lungs. We help them to breathe, anytime a patient has an emergency, often times the hospital staff will call us to come bedside and help take care of the patient."

Bellarmine University offers two different programs in respiratory care, an undergraduate bachelor's degree along with a master's program. To learn more about the program, click here. 

Respiratory therapists help patients at intensive care units, emergency rooms, acute care and outpatient centers. Lee Wisdom, a senior respiratory specialist, said respiratory care practitioners span across the health care continuum. They work with patients of all ages.

"We're with these patients at some of the most difficult times in their lives," said Wisdom, Ph.D., RRT, RRT-ACCS, RRT-NPS. "We take care of patients from the moment they're born, taking care of their mothers before the kiddos are even born, all the way open until the last moment of their lives."

There's a growing need for respiratory therapists and their skills to help treat chronic conditions like asthma and COPD. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow 13% from 2023 to 2033, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

Kane believes the COVID-19 pandemic helped to show the importance of the health care field.

UofL Health respiratory therapists

Respiratory therapists at UofL Health's Mary and Elizabeth Hospital demonstrate therapy exercises in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 22, 2024.

"I think people were not sure what respiratory therapists did so I think everyone got an idea of the importance of respiratory therapy," Kane said. "But certainly our students see what a rewarding career it is and how they can impact a patient's life."

According to the American Lung Association, in Kentucky the rate of new lung cancer cases is 84.8, significantly higher than the national rate of 54.6. Kentucky ranks 48th among all states. 

The therapists help keep Sloane healthy and out of the hospital. 

"They've been amazing," DeNardi said. "I truly believe they're the reason she is still alive through all of her struggles and things. It's been able to keep us at home and still be a family."

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